


Kung Po Ow

by chasethewind



Series: Dribbles and Drabbles [24]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Food Poisoning, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 20:37:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3182342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pain. Nausea inducing, stomach churning, please-just-let-me-die pain. Oliver had been through his fair share of pain. Eight years of it, to be exact, but this pain was unfathomable. His stomach felt like it would turn itself inside out if he moved even slightly. Bile rose in the back of his throat, but vomiting wasn't an option because it would probably lead to a slew of other unsavory things. So he lay there, clutching the sheets, willing the pain to go away.</p><p>What the hell had he done to deserve this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kung Po Ow

**Author's Note:**

> Oliver gets sick with food poisoning. Season 2.5. Has some mentions from the comics, but it's not spoiler-y at all. Just some cute Fluff Without Plot.

Pain. Nausea inducing, stomach churning, please-just-let-me-die pain. Oliver had been through his fair share of pain. Eight years of it, to be exact, but this pain was unfathomable. His stomach felt like it would turn itself inside out if he moved even slightly. Bile rose in the back of his throat, but vomiting wasn't an option because it would probably lead to a slew of other unsavory things. So he lay there, clutching the sheets, willing the pain to go away.

What the hell had he done to deserve this?

_Six Hours Earlier…_

"Food acquired. I'm on my way," Felicity chirped in his ear on the other end of the phone. "It's not the usual place, but the reviews were pretty good, so I figured we'd try it out."

It was a rare night off in the foundry. With fewer and fewer criminals invading Starling City, Oliver, Roy, and Diggle could enjoy some down time, and right now, they were all sitting in her living room with beer and wine and really good food on the way. Even Lyla had made it that evening, glad to get a respite from pacing her own apartment while waiting for the baby to arrive.

The little, hole-in-the-wall Chinese place was down the street from Felicity's townhouse, and she'd gone to pick it up even though "her boys" (as she so lovingly called them) protested.

Not even a minute after she'd hung up with Oliver, her front door slid open. He was there in moments, reaching for the large bags and bringing them to the coffee table so they could all dig in and enjoy a movie night. The food was passed around and after arguing over which movie they should watch, Felicity made the final decision and put on "Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Hey! It's my house!" she reminded them after they all glared at her, but in the end, they all settled in with their takeout. Diggle and Lyla shared her couch while Roy lounged in her recliner. She and Oliver rounded out the room in her loveseat.

He was content sitting beside Felicity, their arms brushing as they ate in silence. She'd gone with her usual, dim sum, while he'd opted for kung po chicken, minus the peanuts, and they shared an order of spicy egg rolls.

It hit Oliver as soon as he'd thrown out his empty container in the trash. Something wasn't settling right in his stomach. He pushed the thought out of his mind, figured it was probably all the spice. The food had quite the kick that evening. Returning to the love seat, he stretched out beside Felicity, his arm falling on the cushions behind her head as a tried and true method of allowing her to cuddle into him.

And she did, rather quickly in fact. Her head fell against his shoulder as her arm banded around his waist. Although they hadn't really talked about the big "I love you" during Slade's siege several months prior, they'd gotten very comfortable with each other. Hell, he'd even let Felicity buy him a bed for when he slept in the foundry. But most nights found him here, sprawled out on the extra bed in her guest room.

Oliver liked it here. It was warmer than the basement of his former club and so full of life when Felicity was there. Her quiet padding around the kitchen as she got ready for work in the morning always woke him up, but it was far better than shooting out of bed after a nightmare to find himself alone in the lair. He'd join her a few minutes later, and they'd share a cup of coffee before she headed out to a job she detested.

That always made him feel guilty, knowing he was responsible for her losing not just one, but two jobs she actually liked. Oliver vowed to make it up to her someday, but right now, she was content with the fact that her job at Tech Village gave her benefits and flexible hours so she could work with the team at night and sleep in a little during the day.

But at that moment, none of those things mattered. Felicity was wrapped around him snugly, giggling at the parts of the movie that made her life. If it hadn't been for the ache in his stomach, Oliver would have enjoyed it, too. But soon it began to get worse and the weight of her arm across his waist became increasingly uncomfortable.

At one point, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and although there came relief, it was momentary. Half an hour later, his stomach was at it again, this time feeling as if a napalm bomb had exploded inside. It rumbled and grumbled to the point where he thought Felicity would say something, but thankfully the movie's sound effects managed to cover it until the credits rolled.

The nausea came after Roy, Diggle and Lyla left, as Oliver helped Felicity clean up the rest of the empty takeout containers. As he lugged the trash bag over his shoulder and into the garage, the first wave hit him suddenly. He paused at the large brown container, resting his hands against the lid staving off the inevitable until he got back into the house and into the bathroom.

Dry heave after dry heave did little to quell the pain in his stomach so Oliver slinked into the guest bedroom, throwing off his clothes until he was just in his boxers and sliding beneath the cool sheets. Laying on his back was the only thing that helped keep the ache and the nausea at bay, and after a while, he managed to pass out from sheer exhaustion.

That was until he woke up three hours later, the nausea inducing, stomach churning, please-just-let-me-die pain twisting his insides to the point where Oliver thought he'd cry. No form of torture his former captors had inflicted on him had ever been this bad. Sure, he'd been beaten, shot, sliced with a sword, but nothing even came close to the pain he felt at that moment. It was as if his stomach had decided it no longer wanted to be inside his body and was doing everything in its power to get out.

Oliver lay there, gripping the sheets until his knuckles were white, trying yet failing to will the pain away. The sound of footsteps in the hallway drew his attention away from the constant ache, and when Felicity gently pushed the door open to slip inside, his eyes immediately zeroed in on her.

"Felicity?" he moaned and her head immediately snapped up.

"Oh, sorry, Oliver! Did I wake you?" she asked softly. "I was just coming in to grab the hamper. Tomorrow's laundry day and I thought I'd make it easier for you."

"Can you get me a glass of water?" he meekly replied.

Her expression went from cheerful to concerned in less than a second flat. Felicity stepped up to the bed, eyeing him critically until she saw his white knuckled hold on the sheets. "Oliver, are you okay? What's wrong? And don't say it's nothing."

For a moment, he thought about lying, but the pain was overwhelming and all he wanted was for it to go away. "My stomach hurts," Oliver finally admitted.

"I think I have some Pepto tablets in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom," Felicity said. "Sit tight, I'll be right back." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before almost running out of the room. In less than a minute, she returned with a pink bottle, a glass of water, and the small trash can she kept in her bathroom. "I hope this helps."

Two pills were shaken into his hand before Felicity gave him the glass of water then she set the trash can on the floor near his head. Oliver only managed to drink enough to get the pills down before laying back on the bed. "Thanks," he mumbled before throwing his arm over his eyes and trying to settle into a comfortable position.

"Try sitting up," Felicity suggested. "That usually helps me when I have an upset stomach."

Oliver moved his arm to glance up at her, but she was already opening the closet door and grabbing an extra pillow. She returned to the bed a moment later. Wordlessly slipping her arm beneath his neck, she helped him sit up and placed the pillow behind his head. "Does that feel better?" Felicity asked.

Surprisingly, it worked, and he nodded while giving her a weak smile.

"If you need me, just text or yell or whatever. Those pills are supposed to kick in quick so I'll check on you in half an hour. Try to get some rest, okay?" When he nodded, Felicity gave him one of her stellar smiles then turned to leave.

"Felicity," Oliver called her back. She stopped at the door and turned. "Thank you."

Another stellar smile touched her lips as she replied, "You're welcome."

He tried to take her advice, to rest until the medicine kicked in, but it didn't seem to work. The more time that passed, the less he expected the little pink pills to work. Instead, he tried to play a few games of solitaire on his phone. When that didn't work, Oliver switched to cat videos on YouTube. (That was all Felicity's fault. She'd shown him a few in the foundry one day a few weeks ago and he hadn't been able to wipe the smile off his face afterwards. Cat videos were addictive!)

"Hey, you feeling any better?" Felicity asked as she popped her head through the door. She stepped inside when she noticed he still looked miserable and took a seat on the bed next to him.

Oliver looked up from his phone and sighed. Setting it down on the nightstand next to him, he answered, "Not really."

"Damn," she muttered, nibbling on her lower lip. Felicity reached out and placed her hand against his forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever so I think it's probably just some mild food poisoning. I guess it's time to try Plan B: ginger ale and a heating pad… And maybe some TV, if you feel well enough to come to my room." He saw the flush spread from Felicity's cheeks up to her ears and down her neck beneath the tank top she wore, but she stood firm in her offer, not taking it back.

Smiling, Oliver nodded. "If you don't mind," he said, giving her an out anyway.

"Of course I don't mind!" she replied, stroking her fingers through his hair all the while smiling down at him. "You go get yourself situated and I'll grab that ginger ale."

It was a shock, finding himself in Felicity's bed once again, only this time she'd actually be in it with him instead of at work. Oliver slipped under the familiar light pink covers then propped himself up against several extra pillows he'd carried in from the guest room. The TV was already on with a rerun of Mythbusters playing on silent. Once comfortable, he let his head fall back against her wrought iron headboard and relaxed.

Felicity's scent enveloped him, putting Oliver at ease for the first time all night. He sagged into the mattress, closing his eyes and reveling in the warmth he found there. Before he knew it, she was stepping through the door, can of ginger ale in hand along with a package of saltine crackers. She set them down on the nightstand beside him then headed for her closet, returning a moment later with the heating pad. It was laid across his stomach before she turned it on and the warmth that radiated from it quickly seeped into his belly, calming his aching muscles.

"If you want to turn up the heat, the button is right here," Felicity said as she pointed to the little remote she placed on the nightstand beside the ginger ale and crackers. Then she slid under the covers on her side of the bed and picked up the remote. "Are you okay with watching Mythbusters? Because I can change the channel…"

"Felicity," he said, reaching over and taking her hand to give it a light squeeze. "It's fine. Besides, I didn't know that show was still on the air."

"Ten years and they're still going strong," Felicity replied with a lopsided smile. "There's a marathon this week, so I'm trying to catch up on what I've missed since I started working with you."

"Do they still blow shit up?"

"Oh, yeah! I think you'll like this episode. It features exploding water heaters."

And with that, she took the TV off mute and snuggled under the covers. Together they watched the episode in companionable silence as Oliver sporadically took sips of his ginger ale and nibbled on a cracker all the while the heat pad did it's thing. Whether those were the things that finally settled his stomach or not, he was glad that by the time the last water heater shot through the makeshift house the Mythbusters built the pain had subsided.

Turning to let Felicity know, he discovered her fast asleep, her head nestled against his arm with blonde hair fanning out over her pillow. Oliver smiled as he turned off the heating pad and placed in of the floor beside the bed. A moment later, he shimmied down his pile of pillows until he lay beside her, his chin coming to rest just above the top of her head.

For the first time that night, he was able to close his eyes and just relax, letting sleep take him gently into the night. And when he awoke the next morning, Oliver felt better. He felt rested. But he also felt a small arm perched on his hip and a face pressed to the side of his neck. Some time during the night, Felicity had nestled herself into his side and hadn't moved from the spot.

It would have been so easy to run his fingers through her hair and press a soft kiss to her forehead, but Oliver refrained. They were friends, close friends, the best of friends even, but they sure as hell weren't more than that. At least not yet. When he felt Felicity begin to stir, he pulled away to watch her eyes flutter open and immediately focus on him.

"Oliver…" she mumbled, smiling up at him. "Hi."

"Hi," he whispered back. Her smile was infectious and soon Oliver found himself smiling back in kind.

"How do you feel?" Felicity asked.

"Better," he answered. "Much better."

"Good," she said. Stretching her arms over her head, he could hear the pops and clicks of her bones and joints finding their rightful places as a content sigh escaped her lips.

"Felicity," he murmured, locking his gaze with hers. She tilted her head slightly, staring back at him with that warm smile still on her lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Felicity replied. "What are friends for?"


End file.
